Military Career Leads to A Life Time of Opportunities

eroy Winters is a Northside High School class of 1974 graduate whose career in the military has lead to a life time of experiences and opportunities. He has always known the importance of education and the positive impact it has had on his future.

As a teenager growing up in the Lauderdale Courts housing development, Leroy Winters knew that he wanted to do something positive with his life. He also knew that the negative influence of some the people that he hung out with would lead him down a path going nowhere. During his junior year at Northside, Leroy talked with some military recruiters during their visit at Northside High School. Afterwards, Leroy along with friend Wilburn "Doc" Murdock made a conscious decision to join the Air Force after completing high school. They believed that the Air Force would afford them the opportunity to see places beyond Memphis and provide a challenging career.

Life in the Military

After basic military training at Lackland AFB in Texas, his first assignment was Plattsburgh AFB in New York. While stationed there, he was given the opportunity to attend the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada to see the boxing match of Sugar Ray Leonard. After he left Plattsburgh, Winters was transferred to Germany. "The three years in Germany were the best years of my life in the military," says Winters. While in Germany, he had the opportunity to travel to France, Spain, Switzerland and other countries in Europe. Because of his military intelligent experience in Germany, Winters' next assignment landed him a position at the Pentagon working in the Public Affairs Department and later working for Headquarters Air Force. At Headquarters Air Force, he learned the structure of the Pentagon and how the government is run. Winters next assignment landed him in Korea for one year. During that time, the Olympics were held in Korea and Winters got a chance once again to attend the Olympics. After leaving Korea, Winters' next assignment sent him back to the Pentagon working for Headquarters Air Force and he was later selected to go to the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Desert Storm. While working in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he had the opportunity to work along side General Colin Powell.

Life After the Military

Several opportunities opened up for Winters after his retirement from the military. A referral from a previous coworker landed him a position as a Drug Intelligence Specialist with the Justice Department. In his current position as a Freedom Information Act (FOIA) Specialist with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (formerly the Defense Nuclear Agency), Winters department takes 400 to 500 requests per year from people who want information on nuclear weapons that the military used 25 years ago. They also get information request from people who had love ones exposed to Agent Orange. The FOIA is a United States Act that provides public access to federal government information. The foundation of the act is the belief that the government is accountable for its actions and that the public possesses the right to obtain information about those actions.

Family Values

Winters is a divorced father of three children: sons Fredrick, 28, Saleem, 23 and daughter Lakisha, 22. Winters has always stressed the importance of getting a good education to his children. After completing high school, Saleem and Lakisha received scholarships through the military. Son, Saleem is a senior at the University of Buffalo in Niagara Falls, NY majoring in Accounting with a minor in Computer Science. Daughter, Lakisha is a senior at Oakwood College in Huntsville, AL majoring in Accounting with a minor in religion. He has 8 grandchildren through his son Fredrick. Winters has worked hard to see that his children have opportunities that he did not have while growing up.

Winters took time out to speak candidly with us about his life both personally and professionally.

-Jalia: What has been the highlight of your life professionally?

Winters: The most memorable part of my career was when I was working for General Colin Powell in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I was able to observe a black man like myself running the Department of Defense. Sitting in the War Room with General Powell and placing military statistics on the war board was the most significant job that I ever had in the military. Another thing that I admired about General Powell was when he set aside time, during a two-week period, to take a personal picture with each one of his 900 personnel working for him in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Department.

-Jalia: What has been the highlight of your life personally?

Winters: One of the highlights of my life personally was in 1997 when I hosted 118 people for my family reunion in Washington, D.C. My mother is one of 14 children in which 12 of her siblings are still living. We had a personal tour guide that took us on an 8-hour tour of Washington, D.C. My family had a chance to visit places like the White House, U.S. Congress and the Capitol building. It was heart warming to see the look of amazement and joy on the face of my teenage and preteen relatives' faces as we visited different places on the tour. It was great having all of my aunts and uncles here to see my life right now and how well that I'm doing in my professional career. Half of my family has never been outside of Memphis so this was a great experience for them.

-Jalia: How often do you visit Memphis?

Winters: I would go home about once every couple of years before I retired from the Military. In the last five years, I try to come home a couple of times a year. This year I flew home to surprise my mother for Mother's Day. I also came home this past August for a family reunion. I enjoy visiting Memphis and seeing old friends when I visit my old neighborhood. We laugh and joke about the good old days. During my conversations with them, I notice how different they view the world and its opportunities as oppose to how I view it.

-Jalia: Being a former Pentagon employee, how has the aftermath of September 11 affected you mentally?

Winters: Since September 11th, I have been over to the Pentagon twice. I worked at the Pentagon for 16 years and have about 200 friends that still work there. There is not a day that goes by when I do not think about what happened. Two of my friends were killed when the plane hit the Pentagon. When I first heard the news, I kept thinking that thousands of people must have been killed. For the first two weeks after it happened, I was practically glued to the television. I just could not get enough of watching the news. I have worked in top-secret environments. The Military Intelligence, CIA and the FBI are another world. I am aware of things that could have been done. I just cannot understand how we could let something like this happen.

-Jalia: What do you hope to accomplish both personally and professionally in the next two to five years?

Winters: I have been putting in a lot of hours trying to support my two children that are in college financially. They are my main force right now. By the age of 50, I have plans to go into business handling government contracts with six of my ex-military friends. The military government is currently contracting out a lot of jobs to the public. There are so many opportunities out there for military government contract work.

Leroy Winters is a man of humble beginnings who made a decision as a teen to do something positive with his life. He has an associate degree in Information Management from the Community College of the Air Force in 1987 and an associate degree in Administrative Management from the University of Maryland in 1984. His career in the military has lead to many memorable experiences. His goals for the future will only take him to the next level and beyond.